Lent 2023, Week 2

The temperature is really starting to dip, and I’m still hearing forecasts of snow so spring is still a bit further down the road. The second week of Lent was mentally a struggle. We really don’t eat very much meat, only about 3-4 times a week. But at the start of last week, nothing felt satisfying, and all I could think about was meat. I think it was the fact that it just was not an option anymore. But by the end of the week things turned around and I am more optimistic about the coming week.

Sunday we had a lovely rogan josh using beef instead of lamb, Matt cooked so I’m not sure where the recipe came from. It was cosy and flavourful and just what we needed. Monday we had vegan Thai green curry from Hot Thai Kitchen. It has recently become a veggie night go-to for us. Tuesday is where things started to go awry. I made spanakorizo from Georgina Hayden’s Nistisima, with some herby chickpeas on the side. Not being in tomato season I used passata as suggested, but the rice turned out very gloopy. I think fresh tomatoes must be the way to go, so I will revisit this one in summer. Wednesday we went out and had vegan burgers at Brass Monkey (Grange). They were good and I was definitely perked up by the presence of chips. But I was still acutely aware of the Korean BBQ joint just down the road. Thursday we had some Japanese curry with beans. This is cosy and satisfying, but as we went out for drinks with Matt’s colleagues afterwards, I became nibbly again and my thoughts turned to delights such as chicken wings. I stayed strong, but will admit I was rather whiny about it. An order of chips would probably have helped. Notes for next time. Friday we had originally planned on sushi, but ultimately ended up on a Sardinian place we love, Isola. It was just the thing I needed. We had a beautiful lump of buffalo mozzarella on scallop mouse and topped with bottarga (mullet roe), and I had spaghetti alle vongole. Saturday we had Crispy Kung Pao Tofu which was so good we ate the whole batch. While the deep frying makes this a weekend dish for sure, it will definitely be back.

I’m a little more optimistic about our picks for this week, we will see how it goes!phot